Thursday, January 19, 2012

Johnny Otis RIP

Johnny Otis - one of the true giants of rock and roll and often called the Godfather of Rhythm and Blues - has died aged 90. The son of Greek immigrants, he grew up in a black neighbourhood in Berkeley, California. He formed his own band in 1945 and had a hit with Harlem Nocturne and played with Wynonie Harris and Charles Brown, among others. He opened his own R and B club - The Barrelhouse in LA. One of his many discoveries was Little Esther Phillips, then a teenager, who sang with the band and produced a string of hits for the Otis band. He also worked with the Robins, who went on to become the Coasters, and discovered sax man Big Jay McNeely. Next came Etta James, for whom he produced Roll With Me Henry, and Big Mama Thornton, for whom he produced Hound Dog, The list of his discoveries goes on and on - Jackie Wilson, Hank Ballard, Little Willie John, Sugar Pie DeSanto, among others.

1 Comments:

Last Thursday's Suzi Quatro's Radio 2 programme was dedicated to Johnny Otis and was well worth a listen, although constrained by the thirty minute length. It can still be heard until about 9.00 pm tonight here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007klw8.